The cap, imposed by the City beginning in 2003, means that workers\' annual pay increases have fallen short of the Consumer Price Index\'s average annual increases of 3.5 percent, reported AFSCME Local 9.
Local 9\'s current one-year contract with the City will expire December 31, 2006. At the outset of contract negotiations October 17, the City maintained that the two percent cap must continue.
"It was supposed to be a temporary measure," said Tina Sanz, AFSCME Local 9 president, addressing Monday\'s noon hour rally of about 100 Local 9 members and supporters. After four years of living under the cap, "everybody\'s saying it\'s enough," she said.
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AFSCME Local 9 President Tina Sanz, joined by Minnesota AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Steve Hunter, addressed the rally. More than 100 city employees participated in the demonstration. Minneapolis Labor Review photos |
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Setting the cap below the Consumer Price Index is "unethical and immoral," said Steve Hunter, secretary-treasurer of the Minnesota AFL-CIO and a former president of AFSCME Local 9.
He added: "good faith bargaining doesn\'t mean you unilaterally set the terms before you come to the table… All workers have the right to collectively bargain."
The City\'s budget shouldn\'t be balanced on the backs of city employees, said Cliff Poehler, treasurer of AFSCME Council 5.
After an outdoor rally and speeches at the federal courthouse plaza, the group marched around City Hall and then inside, where their chanting beside the Father of Waters statue sent loud echoes through the building. "Who are we?" called a speaker. "Minneapolis!" the group roared back.
AFSCME Local 9 represents about 1,000 City of Minneapolis workers, including clerical workers, technical workers, housing inspectors, attorneys, and others.
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| Marchers circled City Hall. Minneapolis Labor Review photo |
For more information
Visit the AFSCME website, www.afscmemn.org
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The cap, imposed by the City beginning in 2003, means that workers\’ annual pay increases have fallen short of the Consumer Price Index\’s average annual increases of 3.5 percent, reported AFSCME Local 9.
Local 9\’s current one-year contract with the City will expire December 31, 2006. At the outset of contract negotiations October 17, the City maintained that the two percent cap must continue.
"It was supposed to be a temporary measure," said Tina Sanz, AFSCME Local 9 president, addressing Monday\’s noon hour rally of about 100 Local 9 members and supporters. After four years of living under the cap, "everybody\’s saying it\’s enough," she said.
|
|
AFSCME Local 9 President Tina Sanz, joined by Minnesota AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Steve Hunter, addressed the rally. More than 100 city employees participated in the demonstration. Minneapolis Labor Review photos |
|
Setting the cap below the Consumer Price Index is "unethical and immoral," said Steve Hunter, secretary-treasurer of the Minnesota AFL-CIO and a former president of AFSCME Local 9.
He added: "good faith bargaining doesn\’t mean you unilaterally set the terms before you come to the table… All workers have the right to collectively bargain."
The City\’s budget shouldn\’t be balanced on the backs of city employees, said Cliff Poehler, treasurer of AFSCME Council 5.
After an outdoor rally and speeches at the federal courthouse plaza, the group marched around City Hall and then inside, where their chanting beside the Father of Waters statue sent loud echoes through the building. "Who are we?" called a speaker. "Minneapolis!" the group roared back.
AFSCME Local 9 represents about 1,000 City of Minneapolis workers, including clerical workers, technical workers, housing inspectors, attorneys, and others.
|
| Marchers circled City Hall.
Minneapolis Labor Review photo |
For more information
Visit the AFSCME website, www.afscmemn.org